After hosting the 2014 CIS Championships in Regina at the CKHS last March, the University of Regina's women's volleyball team will aim to get back to nationals for a second consecutive season – and that road begins this weekend with two road matches against Manitoba.

With All-Canadian outside hitter Desiree Ates gone after finishing her CIS eligibility, fifth-year middle Michelle Sweeting will be counted upon for leadership on and off the court. Sweeting, a Canada West second-team all-star last year, is coming off a season in which she led the entire conference with a blistering .333 hitting percentage.

After being named the Canada West Rookie of the Year and setting a conference single-season record with 860 assists, Leah Shevkenek set the bar at an extremely high level in her first season at the U of R and will look to continue that level of play in 2014-15. She controls the offence for a team that will return Sweeting and Molly Wade-Cummings at middle and Tori Glynn and Chelsea Ziolkowski on the outside.

With five starters returning, it's likely that the only new faces will be at outside hitter and libero with Ates and Megan Semeniuk both graduated. Lindsay Braul has seen plenty of court time for the past few seasons and has the inside track to replace Semeniuk at libero, while returners Jenna Krahn and Hannah Hardy have a shot to play a greater role on the Cougars with Ates' two-season career now finished.

The Cougars and Manitoba (0-2) play on Friday night at 6 p.m. (CDT) and on Saturday at 1 p.m. (CDT). Both matches will be webcast live at www.canadawest.tv.